This invention generally pertains to artificial eyes. More specifically, the present invention relates to an artificial eye particularly intended for use in taxidermy.
The invention is specifically applicable to artificial fish eyes, such as walleye eyes, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention has broader applications and may also be adapted for taxidermy use for the eyes of other animals. Moreover, the invention can also be used as an artificial eye on fishing lures for game fish as well as other similar uses.
Heretofore, conventional artificial fish eyes provided for taxidermy purposes looked particularly unrealistic. Fish eyes generally have a teardrop-shaped pupil which can be black or, in the case of the walleye type of fish, a whitish color. The "walleye" (Stizostedium vitreum), also called the walleye pike, is a North American freshwater food and game fish known for its large, conspicuous eyes. The conventional artificial eyes used in the mounting of walleyes have a flat white pupil which has a milky color and looks quite unrealistic. In general, the use of inexpensive artificial eyes results in an expressionless mount since the eyes of the fish do not have the intricate details characteristic of a natural eye.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved artificial eye construction which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.